The present invention relates to a method and apparatus supplying lubricant to machine elements or members used in certain relatively inaccessible places so as to enable an increased service life for the machine.
There have been two ways of lubricating elements of a machine such as bearings or gears. In one of the ways, they are continuously supplied with lubricating oil, as disclosed in, for instance, Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 45-7603. In the second way, grease, a solid lubricant or the like is injected or coated (i.e., applied in a coating) when the machine is started up.
If a element of a machine is lubricated with a solid lubricant, then when the lubricant dries up, that means the end of the life of the element. A problem arises if the machine element is used in space or in a nuclear reactor. Since replacing the machine element and other maintenance operations can be performed only with difficulty in such environments and it many sometimes be necessary to abandon the entire system along with the machine element. On the other hand, a continuous supply of 9rease, oil, etc. entails a problem in that an unnecessarily qreat amount o lubricant tends to be supplied.